Del Toro Faces Open Tirreno-Adriatico Battle

The 2026 Tirreno-Adriatico begins Monday with Isaac del Toro as the clear favorite in a rare edition missing both Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard.

Del Toro dismissed any suggestions that fatigue from Strade Bianche could impact his chances at Tirreno-Adriatico, but quickly left Sunday’s pre-race press conference, with reports suggesting he wasn’t feeling his best for the week-long stage race. The Mexican won the UAE Tour and leads UAE Team Emirates-XRG at Tirreno-Adriatico in the absence of Pogačar. He impressed at Strade Bianche, finishing third behind Pogačar and Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMS CGM) after marking the French rider while Pogačar surged to victory.

Any lingering soreness or health problems for Del Toro may grow apparent during Monday’s time trial and the subsequent gravel sector and uphill finish on stage 2 to San Gimignano. If Del Toro isn’t at his peak, it could open the door for general classification (GC) rivals such as Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-Easypost), two-time winner Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto Intermarché) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) to contend for overall success.

Del Toro Downplays Concerns

“I’m good,” Del Toro stated briefly when asked about the potential impact of Strade Bianche fatigue. In his only other response during the press conference, Del Toro expressed concern about the daily risks inherent in racing Tirreno-Adriatico.

This year’s race notably lacks a major mountain finish to decisively determine the general classification, instead featuring more hilltop finishes and short, steep climbs. Time losses in the time trial will carry greater weight. “This is a race that will be highly competitive because all the teams lining up are extremely motivated,” Del Toro said. “On this kind of course, it’ll be necessary to stay attentive every day. There’s no queen stage, anything can happen every day. I guess we’ll be in a constant state of stress.”

Rivals Prepare to Challenge

Roglič, making his season debut, downplayed his chances, while Tiberi looms as a potential threat, mirroring his performance at the UAE Tour. He won the first mountain stage to Jebel Mobrah ahead of Del Toro but ultimately lost his overall lead when the Mexican rider surged on the finish to Jebel Hafeet. Tiberi, who did not participate in Strade Bianche, finished third in last week’s Trofeo Laigueglia. He cautiously stated, “The route is for sure not suited to me because I prefer long, harder climbs.” However, he added, “But the steep uphill finish could be good and perhaps the gravel road in the final kilometres of stage 2 is where I could do something.”

Roglič was equally reserved, despite recent altitude training. “I didn’t arrive here from a holiday, I did some preparation at altitude. My training was fine, I just necessitate to start racing,” he said. “I feel good. The other riders have all raced but this is the start of my season, so we’ll see…”